Bedpan



Sept. 30, 1952 c. E. WAKEMAN BEDPAN Filed March 11 1950 w M w M I E I K mm m Y 5 W56 E 2 M I n w I C a 5 I u & H l m m 1 I M n I i W D ATTGR NEY5 UNITED STATE Patented Sept. 30, 1952 1 .i

PATENT orrlcgfj BEDPANY Catherine E. Wakeman, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Applicaticnll/Iarch 11, 1950, Serial No. 149,085

'9 Claims. 1 This invention relates to improvements in bed pans for use by invalids, patients and the like. This application is a continuation in part of the applicants application Serial Number 682,356, filed July 9, 1946, now abandoned, as to subjec matter common thereto.

An object of the present invention is the provi sion' of an improved form of bed pan which will provide a maximum amount of ease for the per- 7 son using it. i

Another object is the provision of means for proving a bed pan without materially altering the construction of those now in common use.

' A further object is the provision of a bed pan having a resilient portion for comfort which may be moulded in the pan or secured thereto.

Yet another object is the provision of a resilient portion in a bed pan which will not interfere with the cleaning and sterilizing thereof.

It is a well known fact that the bed' pansnow commonly used cause a great deal of hardship to a great many invalids or patients. These pans have been in-use for many years and yet no one has been able to eliminate or reduce the difficulty which is so apparent to doctors, nurses,

and persons who have had to use them. Numerous attempts have been made to provide cushions for these pans, but not one of them is in common use today. Some of these cushions are detachable and are formed of material that cannot be properly disinfected or which willnot dry 'very rapidly so that hospitals will not have anything to do with them. Furthermore, .these cushions are laid over a flat surface of the pan. If the cushions are capable of keeping the bones of the lower spine away from the hard surface of the pan, they themselves would cause a great deal'of discomfort. Of course, if they are not capable of keeping these bones away from; the

pan,'they .do not serve any useful purpose. Air

cushions have been designed for this purpose,

- but they cannot practically be made deep enough to support the spine bones away from the hard pan.

The present invention reduces the discomfort to a very marked degree by providing a bed pan having a resilient area in the back thereof upon which the lower end of the usersspine rests. This resilient area can conform to the shape of the bones at the lower end of the spine, and at the same time, it yields sufliciently1 ,to allow the weight of the person to be carried. bythe rigid .portion of the pan. This resilient area provides a cushion which eases and, in fact, practi cally eliminates any pressure on this part of the body. '7

2 .s With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists essentially of'a bed pan of the class described having a resilient closure formed at the end thereof nearest .fthe body of the user, as more fully described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bed aiiincorporating one form of the invention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through "the back end of the pan, J i I Figure 3 is a cross section through the'back end of the pan, showing an alternative method of connectingthe closure of the pan, 7,

.Figures 4 and 5 illustrateother methods of joining the resilient closure to the rest of the pan, 7

Figure 6 is a perspectiveview of an alternative form of bed pan, n I

Figure 7 is a reducedfilongitudinal section through the pan shown in Figure 6, a nd,

' Figure 8 is a longitudinal section througha pan of the type shown in Figure 1 illustrating another variation of the invention. 1 Referring more particularly to Figures l'to of the drawings, lll'is abed'pan in-the form of a receptacle of ordinary construction having a rigid flat top I! in which the'usuaI epenmg 12 "is formed, the edges l3 offsaid top defining the sides of .the opening.

According to this invention,the opening it is continuedthrough the top of the panto' the back-end; wall Ml thereof and part 'wa'yi down said end" wall, as clearly seenin Figure 1 A Y closure lfiisformed of suitable resilientmaterial,

such asplastic, rubber, or the like, extendsa'cross the back end of the opening-i2"andis 'formed with or joined to the rigid edges 13 of said opening' in any suitable manner.

H By referring" to Figure2, it will be seen that the closure has a horizontal portion l6 and a vertical portion H.

1 With this construction, the top"ll and the por tion-ifi of the closure actually form an inturned nm for the pan, while the portion ll forms part of the end wall It. The forward edge of the closure "may be" formed with a reinforcing bead 8; While it is preferable to carry the opening it down into the, end wallf I 14, as shown,

I it is obviousgthat it may terminate at e top II at or near the end wall- InthisIcasegthe resilient closure'will not extend into the'wall.

[Thebed pan described so far hasahigh, open pend l9 anda relatively low closed end ZiifjIhe opening IZfo'rmsa longitudinalslotalong the higher end of the top of" the panandeiitending to the top of the lower end thereof. The end 2| of the resilient closure l5 nearest the high end of the pan is substantially normal to the length of the rigid portion thereof.

As stated above, the closure l5 may be connected to the rest of the pan in any suitable manner, or it may even be formed with said pan, depending upon the material of the latter. The pan itself-may be made of anydesired-material, such as .metal, ,enamelled metal, .or plastic. If, for example, the pan were formed or moulded plastic which becomes rigid when set, it wouldbe possible, with the plastics known today, to form the closure of a resilient or flexible plastic which might be moulded along with the Qther .plas tic.

If desired, the edgesof the closure, 1] fi may be bonded to the edges I3 by asuitable bonding material, as in Figure 5, said bonding mater'iabdepending upon the material of the twoelemerit to be joined. Figure 3;:shows the edges i3 bent ov r...to. form a. head which his. intoa relativ ly ..large head. 22. term d-o th side and. -.r .ar.v edg ot. the closure, ..said bead having a recess therein shaped .toreceive said. edges 13. j In Figure ,4 the d esdaare.for nedwithasplid headziadap to fitinto. a bead -24 in the edges of the closure,

said head 24 having ,a correspond ns ysh n recess to receive the bead 23.

Figuresdand 7 illustrate a bedpanj that differs slightlyin construction from :those in common use. The pan has the flattop ,I 1, opening [2,

hand edges 13. .,However, instead of the back. end .heingvertioalasin Figure 1, the pan is; iormed with a back. end-wall..25 which slopes down .to

.-the bottomlfi thereof. .Ihis wall is cutaway to .Iorm a. recess '21 whichis .really, a continuation of the opening l2, and said recess is covered by ...a closure 28 formed of .a resilient material such as rubber, plastic, or the like. closureis -iconnected or bonded .totherigid edges ofthe pan in any suitable manneras indicated above,,ai id. it

,.is; moulded totaperdown toa thin edge, 2 9, see

Figure 7, which forms theback end .of the pan. The end wall. 25.and..the closure .arealmosthorizontal-that is,,the. slopethereof is very gradual. .The losure 28. i s.provided with aninternal recess Slwhichformspart of the interior of thepan. :Thehottom 3! .-of this. closure forms anon-skid surface --whi,ch, if: desired, may, becorrugated as at 32. This surface helps to prevent the pan frqm -,.slippi ng. around ina bed when it is being. used.

: The-body of the .pan,illustratedin'Figure 7, is

. iori ned ofmetal. However, itmay be formed of a suitable hard-settingp1a sti.c, .in which case .the

:resilient closure may beformed of a resilientor .Jiexible, plastic winch may bemoulded along with ;the.other;plastic.-

The bed pan-of Figure- 8 is similar. t the one shown in-,F'igure 1. In thiscase; however, the @opening l2 continues .fromthe-top of the, pan

j down: the back and along the bottom thereofland theeresilientclosure l fits this opening sothat it extends along the-bottom ofthe pan inform a non-skid surface .35. insaid bottom. If .desired, .this surface may be corrugatedasiat 36. The

noneskid surface will. help to p event vthe pan from moving around in a bed. when it .is. being used. It is, obvious thatthe resilient closure, may ,be made as shown in Figure 1. and a wide, slot cut .in the bottomof the pan to receive the resilient strip. 35 by itself. Furthermore, if the pan is ..m0ulded from aflhard-setting plastic. aportion ..thereof along vthe hottom, may be formed of a plastic which. remains..s1ight1vilexib e. when. it l-setsto, .actas .a non skid surface.

zresilient closures are .So; constructed that they do :not interfere with the use of .the pans or with the cleaning and sterilizing thereof. When the oottom oi the pan is formed with a non-skid area as in Figures '7 and 8, the chances of the pan moving around in a bed when it is being used are greatly-reduced. The non-skid section will not -.=a.ffect the sterilization or normal use of the pan.

- What chimps my invention is:

1. A bed pan of the class described consisting of -..areceptacle having an inturned rim most of which is rigid to support the weight of a person wusi the p mapmtion. oisaiclrim-being ,comn se completely. o y eldab e-.-.materi al; per narhently con c ed at its .s desto th risid, ;norti n of.;th m..-.and. said yieldable rim p rtio ,eonforming to the shape of protrudingbones of the pan user to eliminate pressurethereon.

, 2.- A .bed pan of the class described.- consisting :Df a flat otto and-u ri t; r gid. :sid 1-.curvip inwardly to formanelongatedopeningin.andextending longitudinally of the top thereof and; a

-resilient closure. extending acrossonaendpf the spen n e m ne tl seeureda i s edgesitoit panandaiormin p th r o 3. A bed; panpf; theclass describedweonsisting o aafl tottomand u ri h ri idws des, curvin i w rd y to orm ;.a. nsat d openin i i'ande tendin lon tud na of.-.the;.top thereof.. said openin extendin ne .wa l w t one-en th pa and .1 a res lient-closu ext ndin a ross n ;end-.- f;.the.-op ni e1Perman n y ured-ati s ed es .to the pa and-.formihenar thereof. s id cl sure a oc ver nst e portionwof :JtheOIJQ iI Q'i theendof. th pan- -.s1oping gradually to arelatively thin..edge,,a ;re-

cess in:-,said ,.end .communicating ;with;;the;pan

I opening. and a resilient; closure over said '.-recess permanently secured at itsedges torthe pan.

.5. A=bed pan-of the class idQSQIibBdi-Wibhgfih opening -in-its top; said .panhaving agbafiktend sloping. gradually :to a relatively thin edge a;-recess insaidend-communicating with-the pan opening-and. a resilient closure over theurecess integrally connected, as ;by molding to the; pan. said closure having an-internalrecess forming part of the interior of'the pan.

. 6.v A bed pan of relatively rigid materiat having a relatively-low closed end and arelatively-high open end; the-top of which-is inturnedrtoforn a longitudinal slot alongthe higher end of said top and extendingtothe top of the lowerend, said lower end top being of a-resilient-material across the width of said slqt extending partway down the body engaging end of g the pan, the end of said resilient, portion nearest the higher end V of the pan, being substantially normal to-- -the length of said rigidportion. said flexible andrigid materials being integrally joined by abutt joint.

bed pan com ng a co ainer formedp moulded hard-setting plastic. said container hav- ..in an i tumed ri i im finin an ongat ene ies. n...en .,e tendipg longitudinally of m he theree i an s .ii sib e; P i$fi :e s emcq iie 5 with 'the container plastic and covering one end of the elongated opening.

8. A bed pan of the class described consisting of a fiat bottom and upright rigid sides curving inwardly to form an elongated opening in and extending longitudinally of the top thereof, a resilient closure extending across one end of the opening permanently secured at its edge to the pan and forming part thereof, the bottom of the pan having an opening therein, and a nonskid closure for the bottom opening and integrally secured to the pan. I

9. A bed pan of the class described consisting of a flat bottom and upright sides curving inwardly to form an elongated opening in and extending longitudinally of the top thereof, said opening extending down the back of the pan and along the bottom thereof, and a resilient closure extendin across the opening from a point in its top ad- 6 jacent the back thereof down the back and alon the entire portion of the opening in the pan bottom, said closure being permanently secured at its edges to the pan and forming part thereof.

CATHERINE E. WAKEMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

